The Department of Justice had approved the merger between Alltel and Verizon. Conditions for the merger included the divestiture of 100 markets across 22 states.

“The divestitures required are necessary to protect wireless customers and are among the most extensive required by the department in a wireless case,” said Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general in charge of the antitrust division.

The divested area includes the entire states of North and South Dakota. Additional cellular market areas will include parts of Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Montana, South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming, and sections of Alabama, Arizona, California, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia.

The FCC is widely expected to also approve the merger with similar divestiture requirements. CellGeek will be live blogging this commission meeting on November 4th at 11 am. Please join us by going here.